PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. - A country music festival bringing popular artists like Garth Brooks and Carrie Underwood to Panama City Beach has been canceled.
On Friday, festival organizers sent out a press release saying that Kickoff Jam, originally scheduled for Aug. 30 - Sep. 1 at Frank Brown Park in Panama City Beach, will no longer take place. This would have been the first year for Kickoff Jam and was organized by the producers of Gulf Coast Jam. “After the success of Gulf Coast Jam last week in Panama City Beach, we realized the weekend after Memorial Day is a much better time to host a festival,” said Kickoff Jam producers. “So, we are going to cancel Kickoff Jam and provide refunds.”Panama City Beach Mayor Stuart Tettemer says he first heard Kickoff Jam was canceled from Newschannel 7.
“We need the events during the off season and I don’t know what happened with this event. You know, maybe they were struggling to sell tickets, but that’s why we need to bring tourists here during the off season. During the busy season can you know, jam up traffic. It can cannibalize other outlets can could be receiving that money,” he said.